Our First Travel Lesson – Tie Down Everything!
You know those moments when you think...
"It'll probably be okay."
Yeah...
Don't do that.
As we prepared Big Bertha for our very first travel day, we thought we had done an excellent job securing everything inside the RV. Cabinets were latched. Drawers were locked. Loose items were tucked away.
Everything was ready.
Well...
Almost everything.
There was one exception.
One very heavy sewing cabinet.
It had locking wheels, and before leaving we talked about tying it down.
Then we convinced ourselves it would be fine.
After all, it was heavy.
It wasn't going anywhere.
Famous last words.
Not long after getting on the road, Paisley began voicing her opinion about this whole RV travel thing. She meowed... and meowed... and then meowed some more.
After about an hour, we decided to pull over and check on everyone.
We had read that many people allow their cats to ride inside the RV while traveling, and that most eventually curl up on the bed and sleep through the drive. We figured we'd give Paisley a chance to see if she'd settle down.
What happened after that is anyone's guess.
We don't have cameras inside the RV, so your theory is as good as ours.
But when we opened the door...
Our hearts sank.
The sewing cabinet we had decided not to tie down had tipped completely over.
It had crashed into the patio door, scratching the glass and breaking the hardware that secures the door to the floor.
Our "it'll be fine" decision had officially become our first expensive lesson.
Of course, because it was completely loaded with sewing supplies, fabric, and who knows what else, standing it back up wasn't exactly easy.
It felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
Eventually we wrestled it upright, secured it properly this time, made sure Paisley was comfortable, and climbed back into the truck.
Lesson learned.
Tie.
Down.
Everything.
Even the things you're convinced won't move.
Thankfully, our travel day itself was intentionally short.
Back when we traveled full-time the first time, we learned something important about ourselves—we're not interested in driving from sunrise until sunset.
These days we plan shorter travel days, usually around 200 to 250 miles, and prefer arriving between 2:00 and 3:00 in the afternoon.
Setting up camp is so much easier when you can actually see what you're doing.
For this first day, our destination was only 228 miles away, about a three to three-and-a-half-hour drive.
That gave us plenty of time to deal with unexpected surprises... like runaway sewing cabinets.
Our destination that evening would be something new for us.
Our very first Harvest Hosts stay.
And thankfully, the rest of the day went much better than the first hour.
Or at least that's another story for the next chapter.
Lessons We Learned on Day One
- Tie down everything, even if you think it can't move.
- Expect the unexpected.
- Traveling with pets takes patience.
- Shorter travel days make stressful moments much easier to handle.
- The best travel stories usually begin with something going wrong.
Until next time...
Keep adding memories to your wall.
— Greg & Anna
SeasonedRVers 🚐🐾
(click pic for larger version)
